The Kiss
by karjens44
Summary: Elsie comes face to face with Clementine and learns that Clementine was aware of her kiss and that there is more going on with the host than she suspected or would ever report. Elsie/Clementine all the way.


The Kiss

Fandom: Westworld

Pairing: Elsie/Clementine

Rating: T and UP

Summary: Elsie is sent to investigate potential anomalies with Clementine and discovers Clementine was aware that Elsie had kissed her.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to HBO. I'm just borrowing the characters for fun, not profit or anything else.

Note: I saw Westworld during a free HBO weekend. Imagine my surprise when like 5 minutes into the 1st episode, we have Elsie kissing Clementine. (Much like Max X Eleanor in Black Sails) As nothing else came of it in that episode or the next, (Like Max x Eleanor) my first instinct was yet another case of queer baiting, though I admit it worked. Still, it was such an odd thing to happen, I have to believe there was a specific reason for it. And then this idea was born. I have only seen two episodes of this show, so please forgive any errors, inconsistencies or other things that may be wrong with it. (I had a difficult time trying to write a POV for an AI I admit. I'm not entirely sure how much "emotions" these hosts were given, and how to write credible 'glitches'.)

Elsie still wasn't sure what had possessed her to kiss Clementine. She had examined dozens, hundreds even, of these hosts; men and women, tall and short, thin and heavy. All of them had been naked but never before, even with the most attractive of them, had she felt physically compelled to touch them to see what they felt like outside of an exam and certainly not to kiss them. Not until she'd been face to face with the artificial prostitute. Something about Clementine had pulled at her, at something that had apparently been buried so deep inside of her that she hadn't even known it was there. Not until that one moment she'd been left alone with her. She couldn't help herself. Even knowing the host was 'asleep', Elsie had brushed her fingers across skin that was incredibly warm for being artificial and kissed her and something powerful shot through her that she knew she'd never be able to shake. Two weeks later, the memory still haunted her.

"Elsie, we have a problem with Clementine."

Elsie jumped at the unexpected voice of the associate behavior tech and felt her face heat, feeling as if he'd been reading her mind.

"Dammit Gary, don't sneak up on me like that," She muttered. "What's wrong?" she asked, regaining her composure.

"Nothing major, we've just noticed some sporadic fluctuations in her memory. They don't last long enough to focus in on the specific area, but Dr. Lowe wants you to go take a look."

"Go? Why don't you just bring her here?" Elsie asked with confusion. Very rarely did she, or any of the techs, go into the story to perform maintenance.

"He didn't think it was serious enough to disrupt the current storyline. He thought you'd be able to sneak in, like a regular guest and speak to her alone and determine if there was a more serious problem.

A sudden flutter of excitement filled Elsie. She could never have afforded to take a trip into the story as a vacation so this was a chance she'd jump at, even if Clementine wasn't involved and knowing she was just added to that anticipation. Clementine was a prostitute and there was only one credible way for Elsie to get her alone.

"When does he want me to go?" she asked, proud of the professional tone of voice.

"As soon as you get fitted for an outfit. Unless you want me to go for you," Gary added with a smirk. I wouldn't mind examining her myself."

Elsie refused to believe that what she felt was jealousy. "I've got it Gary," she said shortly.

Gary just shrugged. "You're no fun," he told her with a grin, clearly unaware of her irritation. "Go on up then, they're waiting for you."

The saloon was predictably busy. Men filling the poker tables or standing near the bar trying to impress whichever girl caught their attention and trying to talk them into a free trip upstairs. Clementine was impressed with none of it. She leaned back against the bar observing the current patrons of the saloon as well as the ones that came in, mentally calculating who was looking for company and what their particular desires would be. As always, Clementine didn't feel anything when she looked at them, no matter how physically attractive. They were nothing to her but a job to perform and an income to be earned.

She looked toward the swinging doors in time to see a new cowboy walk in. He was smaller than the usual cowboy and wearing his hat so low over his eyes, Clementine wondered how he could see and for the first time she could remember, Clementine felt a flicker of something that could perhaps be called interest as she recognized the cowboy was a woman.

Nobody else seemed to notice the newcomer was a female, but Clementine's job was to read potential customers and she was very good at her job. She could detect better than most, the subtle curve of feminine hips, and the softer angles of her jaw, even beneath the hat.

It didn't phase her one bit that there was a woman in the saloon. She'd seen all types, she'd even been hired by a woman or two, but something about this one caught her attention. Finally, the stranger pushed her hat up so she could see. She looked around the saloon as if searching for someone and then her eyes met Clementine's. The prostitute couldn't describe the strange sensation that flashed through her, but had anyone been standing directly in front of her, they might have seen the unnatural flicker in her eyes as she pictured an image of the woman in an odd setting, staring at her and felt a phantom sensation of soft lips against her own. The mysterious vision was gone before it had fully formed but by then the stranger was drawing closer, disrupting her thoughts.

Casting a warning glare at one of the other girls who had been eyeing the stranger, Clementine made her move.

"Hello Clementine," the woman said, surprising her. She searched her memory, wondering if perhaps she had met this woman before.

"Have we met?" Clementine asked, forgetting the usual greeting she used for new customers.

"Not exactly," the woman said, studying Clementine in a way far different than she was used to being looked at.

"So, are you looking for a little company?" Clementine asked, reverting to her professional voice and a little confused by the blush that touched the woman's face.

"No," Elsie replied instantly, embarrassed despite herself, then remembered why she was there. "Well yes. Kind of."

Clementine tilted her head as if trying to understand her and Elsie couldn't prevent herself from finding the expression extremely endearing. _She's not real,_ she reminded herself firmly. Suddenly the confused look was replaced by one far more dangerous and Elsie swallowed. God damn but their programmers were good, she thought, briefly remembering how soft Clementine's lips were.

"Come on," Clementine practically purred, taking Elsie's hand and leading here upstairs.

Elsie followed Clementine into the bedroom, her heart racing with either nerves or anticipation or both. _You're here to do a job_ , she reminded herself, but then the host turned and met Elsie's gaze and she forgot her own resolve.

"You're afraid," Clementine stated curiously. "Why?"

Elsie wasn't expecting that. Her only reactions with hosts, involved them being inactive with her the one in control.

"I…have you been feeling well?" Elsie blurted, needing to get the situation back on equal footing. She removed her hat and reached into her vest pocket and pulled out her glasses.

"I'm fine," Clementine purred, stalking to Elsie deciding that her skittish client was the sort that needed to be seduced. She froze when she saw the odd spectacles on her pretty face.

"What are those?" She asked curious.

Elsie frowned. This was the second-time Clementine had gone 'off script'. Hosts weren't supposed to notice anything out of place with the guests.

"They help me see," Elsie answered distractedly as she began her examination. She started with Clementine's feet, unprepared to look into those big eyes right at the moment. Already she could feel them watching her and it was making her nervous.

" _Hey Elsie, boss wants to know your status."_

Elsie jumped at the sudden voice in her ear. She'd forgotten about that. "Excuse me for a second," she said to Clementine and stepped out of the room.

"I'm trying to work here Gary. I've noticed some irregularities, but I need time to run a diagnostic. I'm going silent until I'm done."

" _You can't do…"_

"I can and I will. You're talking to me in my ear and Clementine is wondering who I'm talking to. The whole point of this is to be inconspicuous." She took the earpiece out and made sure it was off before putting it in her vest and returning inside.

"Sorry about that," she muttered.

"I'm glad you returned," Clementine replied. A normal, predictable response, Elsie nodded to herself, hoping that meant everything was within normal parameters.

"So tell me," Clementine continue, running a finger provocatively along the neckline of her dress, "did you come up here just to look at me?"

Elsie tried not to watch Clementine's finger. She really did. "I…maybe I did.

She forced herself to focus on her job, trying to hard not to notice the perfectly made body in front of her. She'd seen Clementine naked, so there was no reason for her to be so…agitated by seeing her in her 'working' dress, yet somehow, this was far more intimidating because Clementine was awake.

"Have you experienced anything…strange recently? Any unusual sensations or visions?" Elsie asked, proud of the steady, professional tone of her voice.

"Not that I'm aware of," Clementine replied, though privately she was feeling something she could only call amusement at the woman's obvious nervousness.

"Good," Elsie muttered, swallowing as her scan pulled her eyes up the woman's practically bare chest and she couldn't help but remember what that chest looked like without the fancy dress. Finally, her eyes lifted to meet green ones surprisingly filled with an amused curiosity. She blinked, repeatedly reminding herself she wasn't real.

She took a deep breath and then focused her scan inside of those eyes, looking for any glitch or detail that would have caused a misreading back at the lab.

Clementine couldn't understand what the strange woman was doing or why she was looking at her so closely, but it seemed familiar somehow. Instantly she felt a flicker of something. Her lips felt warm as if someone had just kissed them and she could see dark brown eyes looking into her hers.

"You've kissed me before," she announced.

Elsie's eyes shot wide at the words and the sharp fluctuation in her scan. She'd found the anomaly but was too startled by the hosts announcement to care. "What?" she managed, laughing awkwardly. "I've never been here before."

"No, that's true," Clementine replied, "but you have kissed me before. I just can't remember when."

"Well then it must not have been very memorable," Elsie quipped, trying to figure out how Clementine would know about her indiscretion. Suddenly she remembered Bernard's mention of the discovery of layered memories that hadn't been erased, effectively giving these hosts a subconscious. Still, how could she remember something that happened when she was inactive? A suddenly horrible thought occurred to her. What if Clementine hadn't been completely 'asleep'?

"I may not remember the setting, but the experience, brief though it was, was very nice."

Elsie shook her head. "You're wrong," she stated as firmly as she could.

"Am I?" Clementine strode forward, pushing the shorter woman back against the closed door. Being seductive was what she was paid to do, but there was something else besides her job that was driving her toward this strange woman.

"Your name is Elsie," Clementine said softly, unclear on how she knew that, but she was certain of it, "and you kissed me. I felt it and I enjoyed it," she admitted. "Why couldn't I respond to it?"

Elsie was beginning to panic. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to know. She certainly wasn't supposed to remember. She wasn't supposed to have that odd flicker in her eyes right before she said something she shouldn't know. She had somehow lost control to a host. An artificial prostitute. There was something wrong with Clementine and the underlying memories that hadn't been erased. On top of that she felt an incredible amount of guilt. If Clementine had been conscious than she had…what did that make Elsie who had kissed her without her consent.

"If…if that really happened," she stammered, "that would mean I assaulted you," she blushed.

"I'm a whore…Elsie. You can't assault me." Clementine smiled down at her and that just made Elsie feel worse.

"You're wrong Clementine. What you do…you don't…no woman deserves to be assaulted, no matter her profession," _or if she's artificial._ She added to herself.

Something shifted in Clementine. There was a peculiar feeling in her chest that she couldn't understand, but that wasn't unpleasant, either. She lifted a hand and trailed a finger down the woman's cheek. Instinctively she began to categorize the differences between her skin and the male clients. If she was allowed a preference, she was beginning to form one. She thought about the woman's words, that she felt she'd taken advantage of Clementine. Even though she still wasn't certain about the details of this mysterious kiss, she was now certain it happened, the how and why were irrelevant. She just needed to rid her of the notion that she had taken advantage off her.

Elsie was about to tell Clementine she was finished and needed to go when the host surprised her yet again. Her brain misfired when Clementine dropped her head and pressed her lips to hers for a brief moment.

"What…why did you do that?" she whispered.

"Now we're even." Clementine smiled.

Elsie blinked, trying to refocus itself. For a grief, ridiculous moment she wondered if this type of confusion was what Clementine felt when she came back online after being reset. "What?" she asked again.

Clementine smiled. It was a knowing smile, one that had been programmed into her, but it still made Elsie's knees weak.

"I said, now we're even. You kissed me without asking, and I kissed you without asking."

"That's not the…"

Clementine placed a finger on the skittish woman's lips. "I forgive you, if that helps."

"I need to go," Elsie whispered. And she really did. She needed to go back and review the data she'd obtained and find out what had caused Clementine to know things she shouldn't.

"Are you sure?" Clementine asked. She'd said those words before to other skittish clients. It was routine, but this felt different.

"I don't…" Elsie wracked her brain to come up with something to stop the seductive host before Elsie did violated every procedure in her employee handbook. "I don't have any money," she blurted, believing that as part of her design alone, the lack of funds would alter the AI's behavior. She was wrong.

Clementine continued to explore Elsie's face before reaching out and releasing her hair from the strange band that had held it up. How soft it is, she thought, running her fingers through the silky darkness.

"I don't care," Clementine whispered, bringing up her other hand until she was cupping the strange woman's face.

Those three words should have sent up red flags to Elsie. She should have stopped everything and pulled Clementine out because the whores of the Mariposa saloon were not programmed to ever work free which meant she just went against her own programing. Elsie should have done something besides there, wanting to take Clementine up on her offer more than she'd ever wanted anything.

"Why?" she asked nervously. "Why would you not want money? From me?"

"I don't know," Clementine replied with a sincere confusion that briefly reminded Elsie of who she really was. In a flash, it was gone as she focused once more on the only person who had ever interested her.

"Do you want to leave?" She whispered, stepping so close to Elsie, their bodies were now connected and Elsie thought she would faint. Nothing, no boyfriend she'd ever had, had ever affected her so sharply with just a touch.

"I should," Elsie answered, staring into those big hypnotic green eyes. "I shouldn't be here with you, but no. No I don't."

"Good," Clementine replied and then she leaned that little bit further and her lips were once more against Elsie's.

Elsie whimpered in surrender, forgetting where she was and who she was with. All she felt was a want more powerful than anything she'd ever felt. Her own hands flew to Clementine's, releasing the soft brown mass to fall around her shoulders. She parted her lips allowing Clementine to deepen the kiss, slipping her tongue inside to caress hers.

Elise was drowning and she reveled in it. Clementine kissed her so deeply, it was only the door at her back that kept her legs from giving out.

"That's it," Clementine murmured as she trailed her lips across Elsie's jaw. "Let yourself enjoy the moment. No fears, no doubts, just desire."

Clementine might as well have been speaking a foreign language for all Elsie understood. All she knew was the firm press of lips trailing against her skin and the warm breath in her ear.

"Clementine," she managed, head falling back as the host's lips moved to her neck, sucking hotly.

"Have you lain with a woman before?" Clementine asked, hands working on the button of Elsie's vest.

"N…no. Have you?"

"Mm. Sometimes women prefer the softer touch of other women." Clementine replied. She paused in her efforts.

"Do you wish me to stop?"

"No. No, I want this," Elsie assured her. Wrong or right, she wanted…she needed to be with this woman.

Clementine offered a smile that was a tiny part reassuring and a huge part predatory. "I want this too. So, this time we're both willing."

Elsie still had some very large doubts about that. Clementine was not real. She was programmed to act and to react. Did programmed consent equal real consent?

"You've left again," Clementine noted. "Am I boring you?"

"What? No, I…" Elsie was being kissed again before she even finished her sentence. She felt her blouse and vest being pushed down her arms

"Clementine," she panted, needing more. Needing to discover if Clementine's skin was as soft as it appeared.

Clementine was pleasantly occupied, her hands at the button of Elsie's trousers. She slid her hand slowly up the flat plane of Elsie's belly and for the first time that she could remember, the feel of another person's skin, the taste of their lips, stirred something inside of her.

"You are very beautiful," Clementine whispered.

"As are you, but please, I need…"

"What do you need?" Clementine pushed, her breathing coming hard.

Elsie's breath hitched as long fingers began caressing her breast over the weird looking undergarment she was wearing. "You, Clementine," she choked, desire fighting shame, not that she was in a brothel, not that she was about to have sex with a woman, but shame that the woman in question was basically a high-end android, programmed to only mimic desire and shame that she didn't care.

Something flashed in Clementine's mind and her slow seduction became a burning craving. She pulled away from Elsie and led her to the bed. She slowly reached out and removed the unusual spectacles, placing them on the bedside table.

"Do you…do you feel anything?" Elsie blurted. She needed to hear something, anything other than a programmed response, even though doing so meant there was something seriously wrong with this host.

"Now? Or in general?" Clementine smiled.

"Yes," Elsie stammered. "I mean both?"

"It's curious," Clementine said thoughtfully, as she pushed the brunette down on the bed. She knelt to remove her boots, boots were far too new for a regular 'cowboy'. "Normally I would tell my client anything they wanted to here, what I believe they wanted to hear, but with you, it's like I'm compelled to be completely honest."

 _And another anomaly,_ Elsie noted with her fading mental faculties. Clementine had slipped her trousers off and was now sliding those amazingly warm hands up her thighs. "What is the truth?"

"The truth is," Clementine shifted closer between Elsie's legs, her hands moving around the slender back, noting how smooth the skin was and how fragile her frame felt compared to the big goons she was used to, yet the muscles beneath the skin were just as firm. It was a very intriguing contradiction. "The truth is that I usually don't feel much of anything. I'm paid to make the client feel good and that's all, but you're different."

Elsie tried very hard to fight the flicker of hope, knowing she must say those three words all the time. "Oh really?" she asked dubiously.

"Yes, really." Clementine insisted. She leaned forward and kissed the nervous woman, gently at first and then more insistently until she felt fingers tighten in her hair. She pulled back, observing the flush of pale skin and the swollen lips.

"My job Elise is to provide pleasure, not receive it, but seeing you…just you, like this, it gives me pleasure. I don't understand it at all, but you are different and for the first time, I truly want someone. You."

Elsie knew better than to believe her, but again she saw a flicker in the host's green eyes. A flicker that shouldn't occur, a flicker that said something was not right, but the desire in her eyes looked so real and it had been so long.

For a moment, Clementine was silent as she struggled to figure out how to release the odd-looking little corset. Finally, she felt the catches give and Elsie was bare before her.

"My, my," Clementine said, her eyes slowly admiring every inch of the skin before her.

"Clementine," Elsie said, not sure if she were protesting or pleading and the moment she felt warm hands slide up her abdomen to cover her breasts, she stopped caring.

The handful of relationships Elsie had allowed herself to have couldn't even begin to compare with what she was feeling with this virtual stranger. The men she'd dated had been convenient because they hadn't really made her heart so much as flutter. They were nice and fun and the sex helped relieve her of the stress that built up during the day but they weren't enough to distract her from the job she loved. They didn't go out of their way to romance her and that had been the way she liked it. Until now. Clementine looked at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world and she touched her as if her feelings, her pleasure were all that mattered. The practical side of Elsie said that was what she was programmed to do, but as she felt the slow burning kisses between her breasts and the caress of warm fingers along her waist, she convinced herself it was different. She was different.

"When was the last time someone cared for your needs," Clementine whispered, seeming to read Elsie's mind. She leaned in to bury her face against Elise's neck, scenting her softly before kissing her neck.

"It doesn't matter," Elsie breathed, her fingers plunging into Clementine's hair when she felt the first little nip against her throat.

"Oh but it does," Clementine replied. She leaned up and captured Elsie's lips. This was her job. It was her purpose to make her clients feel wanted, but this was different. This time she did as she wanted, what made her feel good and oddly there was a direct correlation between drawing moans of pleasure from this woman and her own.

"Please. I…need you," Elsie said desperately.

Clementine kissed her once more then got to her feet. In a move that she'd performed more times than she could count, she slowly unbuttoned her dress but this time, she wasn't just noting her customer's reaction, she was actually trying to illicit more. She couldn't make sense of the strange feelings inside of her. Feelings she had never experienced, but they felt…good. Seeing true desire instead of lust in the dark brown eyes watching her, felt good.

Soon she was standing bare in front of the unusual woman, seeing the uncertainty beneath the desire. She would let Elsie dictate what happened next.

"You're so beautiful," Elsie breathed. This was far from the first time she'd seen Clementine naked, but this was the first time she was being watched in return. "I don't know what I'm doing," she offered with a nervous laugh.

"You've never lain with anyone before? A husband maybe?"

"I don't have a husband, but I have…slept with men."

"This is your first time with a woman then," Clementine stated. She sauntered back to Elsie, realizing the skittish woman was going to need a bit of help making that first move.

"Yes," Elsie gulped as Clementine smiled.

"It's not so very different," Clementine encouraged. She lifted Elsie's hand and placed them on her hips.

"I beg to differ," she muttered, savoring the feel of skin far softer than any she'd touched before. Curiosity and desire now outweighing any fears or internal debates between right and wrong. Her hands stroked down the slender thighs as she stared into eyes that were far more expressive than they should have been.

"If you only knew how wrong this is and how badly I'm taking advantage of you." Elsie whispered, silently begging or forgiveness from someone who didn't know it was needed.

Clementine pushed forward, causing Elsie to scoot backwards on the bed until she was fully reclined, with the beautiful dancer's body covering hers as if it were meant to be there.

"No, sweet Elsie, whatever you're thinking, whatever your reasoning, you are not taking advantage of me. I don't know what makes you think are and I can't explain what makes me positive you aren't, but believe me, I do know the difference of my tolerating being with a client and my wanting to be here with you. Every time I'm with a client, I make them feel that there is nowhere else I'd rather be, but inside there is nothing. No thoughts, no feelings, just actions. With you, there truly is nowhere else I'd rather be and just looking at you, touching you makes me…tingle in a very pleasant way."

Every part of Elsie knew she should shut down Clementine and have her taken back to the park immediately. She was acting so far out of her programming it was alarming, but right now, with long fingers playing over her skin, warm lips kissing along her jaw, the sweet, gentle words whispered in her ear, Elsie had no intention of doing so.

"I knew you were special the first time I saw you," Clementine continued, shivering when she felt Elsie's hands slide slowly up her back. "And when I remembered the feel of your stolen kiss, I wanted you."

Elsie felt an unwelcome urge to cry. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her before, nobody had ever made her feel so wanted.

"You can have me," she rasped ad then she pulled Clementine's mouth back to hers. This may be the only time she had with Clementine and Elsie was going to make the most of it. She would show Clementine that she was more to Elsie than just a whore in a brothel and more than an AI, (even if the host wasn't aware that's what she was).

Clementine immediately deepened the kiss, letting her tongue dance with Elsie's and she set about showing the mysterious woman how desirable she was.

Elsie sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since Clementine had shown her what pleasure truly felt like. It had taken several minutes before she had stopped trembling and her mind was even capable of forming a single thought. She hadn't slept with many people, but this was the first time she'd ever come close to fainting during the middle of it. Clementine's fingers, her lips, her tongue and occasionally her teeth had made her feel more than she thought she was capable of and Elsie had done all she could to prove to Clementine that she was wanted in return, that she wasn't just a body.

Now, Elsie lay there, thinking about everything she hadn't let herself think about before. Clementine was curled up next to her, an arm and leg draped almost possessively over her, her face resting on Elsie's chest. Elsie reached out a hand to carefully push the light hair from Clementine's face and she sighed, thinking how innocent and utterly human the host looked at that moment.

"Do the guest…clients ever hurt you?" She asked suddenly, not really sure she wanted to know.

"Once in a while," Clementine answered truthfully, seeing no reason to lie.

Elsie's eyes closed as she tried not to imagine some big gorilla raising his hand to this slender woman. Almost instinctively, her hand stroked comfortingly up and down Clementine's back.

"Are you…can you defend yourself?"

"No. The thought occurs to me to try but I've never been able to."

Elsie didn't like the sound of that at all. These brothel hosts may be AI, but that didn't mean they should have to tolerate abuse, no matter how much the guests are paying. She would talk to Bernard about that, if nothing else and that thought brought her back to reality with a jolt.

"I have to go," she finally said, regret tinting her voice. She had been off comms for far longer than was necessary and she was most likely going to answer for it, but at the moment she didn't care.

"I know."

"I don't know if I'll ever be back." Elsie knew she wouldn't. She could never afford the forty thousand dollars a day it cost to come to Westworld.

"I know that too," Clementine replied. "Though I have no doubt I will see you again. Even if it is at the place where you first kissed me and even if I don't remember it."

Elsie wished Clementine would stop reminding her of that. She was obligated to report that the host may have been aware during their last examination and was showing signs of…remembering, but she had no intention of doing so.

"I will protect you Clementine," Elsie swore, pressing a kiss on the soft hair. "Whatever it takes, I won't let anyone hurt you."

Clementine had no idea what the woman meant, but she could feel the sincerity. She placed a matching kiss over Elsie's breast. "I believe you," she said, not knowing how else to respond.

"Good." Courage being driven by desperation, Elsie rolled them over until she was laying over the host. "You are far more than what you believe you are, what you were made to be," she said seriously.

Again, Clementine didn't fully understand her words, but she reached up to cup Elsie's face. "As are you," she replied and then pulled Elsie down and kissed her, eagerly letting the smaller woman follow the passions that were most likely kept buried outside of this room.

Clementine savored everything, stored every touch and every kiss so that she would remember her time with this strange woman when she was being pawed by some dirty, rough cowboy and when Elsie had gone, she stood before her mirror, finger tracing the small purple bruise on her neck, hoping that unlike most of the bruises she received, this one would remain the next day.

-END


End file.
